


Wintermage

by ChocoVanille



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Angst, Fantasy AU, M/M, Seasonal AU, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-19
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-10-21 00:29:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10673931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocoVanille/pseuds/ChocoVanille
Summary: Winter is cold; a season for death, for darkness, for silence.Summer is warm; a season for life, for vibrance, for song.As a Wintermage, Yuuri Katsuki knows better than to approach the Summermages. They are something just out of reach, something tantalizingly close and yet impossibly far. The law forbids the mixing of the seasons, he knows that he will never be able to have what he wants.What he wants, is the childhood friend turned star-crossed love, Victor Nikiforov.





	Wintermage

**Author's Note:**

> A quick explanation:  
> Magic in this realm is categorized into four types; Seasonal, Elemental, Dark, and Light. The names are relatively self-explanatory. Some are rarer than others, but that much is beside the point. Guilds are another name for the types of magic. When I work out the rest of the world-building stuff, I will explain the hierarchies more in-depth. 
> 
> Tags and Characters will be added as the story progresses, but this first chapter is going to be mostly expositional.

The day has finally arrived, and Yuuri could not be more afraid if he tried. 

His palms, sweaty and shaking, wipe themselves hastily on the thighs of his pants, the best pair he has in his little closet in his parent's home. He glances around with wide brown eyes, taking in the sights and the smells and the droves of people all pouring into the arena for the Choosing. His mother takes up his little hand, squeezing to offer some comfort, but all Yuuri can think about is the fact that after today he might never see them again. A lump forms in the back of his throat, and the thirteen year old forces it down with a hard swallow.  _Stop thinking that way,_ he tells himself, but the knot in his stomach only twists more tightly, stubborn. 

"Yuuri, lighten up," His sister scoffs, ruffling his hair from behind as Yuuri squeaks, "You're working yourself up over nothing." 

He turns to look at her over his shoulder, and takes in for a moment Mari's dress. The silk is a pale blue, drifting daintily from palest turquoise over her shoulders to a deep midnight indigo at her feet. Mari was Chosen as a Watermage, and Yuuri envies the quiet calm of the flowing fabric in the wind. Years ago, when they sat at Mari's Choosing, he had no idea what was happening. The excitement of seeing his sister, clad in the usual white linen of the ceremony, making her way across the arena floor until she met the Council- of seeing her deep breath, and the exhalation of energy caught by the mages surrounding her- the sudden brilliance of life that followed as the arena became the depths of the ocean, illusionary fish dancing tantalizingly out of reach- it had looked so appealing at the time. He had anxiously counted the years until his Choosing, but now that he was there... 

"Mama, what if I don't get Chosen?" 

"That's impossible, Yuuri," His mother smiles gently and squeezes his hand again. He shrinks closer against her, "you know that. Don't get caught up in impossibilities, silly boy." 

He nods, but all he can think is a nerve-wracking,  _What if?_

The horn sounds, a deep, rich note that seems to echo in his head, signals the beginning of the ceremony. Slowly but surely, some more eager than others, the young children rush their way into the Awaiting Area. Yuuri reluctantly lets go when his mother begins to slide her hand from his grasp, and quickly hides his shaking fingers in his shirtfront. Parents are filing out of the arena's center, making their way to the stands, and for a moment he can only stare at his parents' retreating backs, before they vanish from sight completely and he finds it in himself to turn around. 

His footsteps are heavy as he makes his way to wait for his name, for the telltale pull of magic from his center, and to be given his Guild by the wizards of old, sorcerers whose names are whispered in legend and song. 

_What if I am a necromancer?_ His brain whispers nervously, and Yuuri's heart clenches so hard that for a moment he cannot breathe,  _What if I am a Darkmage? They'll kill me, won't they? Any one who displays the talent of the dark mages-_

"I won't!" 

The word is a whispered shout, but it catches the attention of a young boy sitting beside him. He turns, his hair a brilliant silver, almost gleaming in the light, and braided delicately over one shoulder for the occasion. He smiles at Yuuri, once their gazes meet, and moves closer with a cheery greeting. His eyes are the most brilliant blue. 

"Hello," He greets, and Yuuri swallows hard. His voice is soft, sweet, almost musical. Yuuri instinctively knows he will be given a job to match the sunny personality, and the warmth flowing off of him in ebbing waves. _Maybe a Lightmage?_ "Is everything alright?" 

Yuuri finds it in himself to smile, but only due to the kindness being shown to him by- what was his name again?- Victor? Victor. 

"I guess so."

His voice is reluctant and small, and for a moment he's embarrassed. He's never shown this much weakness around anyone but his family before. The thought brings the lump back to his throat, and his vision blurs with the heat of salt. 

A hand over his makes him jump. 

"I'm scared too," Victor admits to him, and Yuuri looks up in surprise. He seems so confident, all smiles, blue eyes wide and sparkling with something Yuuri might consider wonder. Despite his slim figure, Victor looks almost dignified, particularly for a thirteen year old. How could he be frightened? 

"..... You are?" 

Victor turns his smile onto Yuuri again, and there's something sad behind it now. 

"I've never been away from my mother before," He confesses, squeezing Yuuri's hand a little. Yuuri wonders if it's to comfort him or Victor, "And I have never seen a Choosing before. I am afraid of what will happen." 

Something within Yuuri swells- not pride, no, but something- perhaps an urge to protect the friend he'd made? He doesn't know. His brain is still racing to figure out how he could know something more than the boy beside him, how he could possibly be more prepared. He notices the trembling Victor is doing, now, and offers the best smile he can manage. Out of all the children there, some bouncing on their heels with impatience, some smiling and discussing the mage they want to be, still others quietly waiting, he has found someone like him. Someone nervous, someone vulnerable, and his heart skips a beat a moment as his cheeks heat up. 

"I-...." He begins, pauses, and takes a breath as Victor looks back at him curiously, "I-I have seen one before." 

"You have?" Victor blinks, and Yuuri smiles a little, watching some of the nerves fade from his new friend's expression, "Really? So you know what will happen." 

"I do," Yuuri affirms, and squeezes his hand. A part of him is stunned; all it took for him to open up, to feel unafraid, was the feeling of this young boy's hand in his, and the sudden confidence his presence had brought, "Do you want me to tell you about it? It doesn't hurt, or anything." 

The look of relief in Victor's expression is palpable, and Yuuri laughs a little, quiet, but bleeding the rest of the tension out of him. He smiles brightly back at the boy beside him. 

"Were you really worried that it would hurt, Victor?" 

"I-I've never seen one before," Victor replies defensively, cheeks flushing with childish embarrassment, and Yuuri smiles, "I just- I didn't know what to expect." 

"Don't be afraid," Yuuri says, a phrase he's told himself over and over, and this time, he's surprised he means it. "It'll be alright." 

They sit together talking until Yuuri hears his name called, and Victor follows him to the doorway. He looks back at the vibrant blue for a moment, offers a smile, and then makes to leave. His heart throbs painfully, until suddenly there are arms around his waist, and he's trapped in a hug. Victor's face presses against his shoulder blades, and Yuuri pauses. He smiles, repeats a soft, "It's alright," and leans into the embrace a moment before hurrying along down the hallway towards the brilliant sunlight of the arena. 

His heart is aching as he goes, and his cheeks flushed with the devotion of a childhood crush. For once in his life, he has hope for the Choosing. 

Maybe he and Victor will be given the same Guild, he tells himself excitedly, as he makes his way into the blinding glare of the midday sun. Maybe there will be a way for them to work together, as the Elemental mages all do. Maybe there will be some way for him to see his friend again. 

Maybe. 

But there isn't.

He steps out onto the field of the arena, and fixes his gaze straight ahead as instructed. One of the mages around him stands, he notices, watching the motion in his peripheral vision, and he forces his shoulders to relax. Magic is harder to reach when tense, he reminds himself, and while his brain assents, his body seems a step behind. The mage approaches, and Yuuri hears him say something- an instruction. 

"Pool your energy," The mage tells him, "And exhale." 

The wisp of magic that flows from Yuuri's parted lips is a delicate white-blue, pale and soft, and it moves slowly towards the mage's waiting palm. As Yuuri watches, he curls his fingers around the energy, letting it sit for a moment in his closed hand, and then ever so gently, his magic is flung into the sky. Almost immediately, there is a reaction, and Yuuri feels a surge of energy fill his body as he looks around at the snow falling from the sky and landing in a quiet blanket over the arena. 

A Wintermage, he thinks to himself with a glimmer of pride. Never in his life could he have dreamed of this moment. 

" _Katsuki Yuuri,_ " A voice calls to the crowd, and Yuuri turns to see his family standing, clapping, " _Wintermage._ " 

Now, he is permitted to rejoin them, sobbing happily the moment his mother's arms close around him, and his father's hand lands on his back. Mari is cheering from his other side, laughing brightly, but there is something in his mind that asks them to stay a little longer, once he can find it in himself to turn back towards the arena. No, not something in his mind. Something in his ear. 

" _Victor Nikiforov._ " 

His friend is called forward, and he watches as the trembling young boy makes his way into the stadium, no doubt still agonizing. He looks around for a moment- Yuuri almost wonders if Victor is looking for him. To test, he shoots Victor a wave, and watches as his friend brightens, and continues forward to the waiting mages. He undergoes the same process, but as soon as the mage collects his magic and lets it disperse, Yuuri's heart tumbles to the ground. 

A brilliant sunbeam lights Victor's face, the grass beneath him jumps into life, colors brightening and a lively breeze playing with the silver locks atop Victor's head. The sky grows bluer and clears, and Yuuri swears for a moment he can smell the sweetness of watermelon, before the verdict is called. 

" _Victor Nikiforov. Summermage._ " 

**Author's Note:**

> This was lightly inspired (and I mean, lightly) by the Day and Night AU, but mostly this is of my own invention.  
> I suppose it could be called a Seasonal AU? I haven't seen anything with this AU before, so it should be interesting to work out.  
> In the next chapter, hopefully the plot will really get rolling. I'm sorry for leaving off where I am, but I figure you can put together what happens.


End file.
